A blog on building a happy life by Fionnuala Zinnecker

Come to my house on any given day

Come to my house on any given day and you might happen to find well behaved children, a balanced mother, a delicious cake, a clean house and a neat garden. There is a greater chance that you will find grubby children and a clean but untidy house, an unkempt garden and a mother slightly on edge who will gladly offer you coffee and something homemade to eat. If you call with absolutely no warning, you may even encounter bold children who have been given out to by a very cross and worn out mother, who will still offer you coffee and may shout at the children in your presence. The house could be in any kind of state and the garden will be doing its own thing. Depending on the weather, it could come across as a jungle or a country cottage garden. But come to my house on any given day and you will see things as they really are.

Social media can never replace reality. With social media I can choose how to portray my life. I could spend hours cultivating the best photos, post them online and act as if they are flippant snap shots. Or I could take a snap shot that is flukily amazing and post that. I could omit the disappointments and arguments and portray the life of a happy family, all sunshine and picnics. Or I can wallow in the moments that didn’t go according to plan and rant about the unfairness of life, the daily drudge, the bickering and the mess without a single mention of the flickers of happiness, peace or laughter.

I posted this photo a while back of a rocking horse I am renovating. The photo itself is nothing special, more functional than anything else since it is part of a documented restauration.

But what you don’t see is that all this DIY stuff is going on in the kitchen surrounded by a car seat, a high chair, a toy box and Number Two strolling past on his way from the fridge to the glasses. So, not the peaceful restoration workshop you may have been imagining.

My own outlook is to focus on the good in life, not to post anything that could embarass my family or be used against my children, share my achievements and stay positive about the inevitable failures. I accept that my life is not like what we see in magazines and I am happy with that.

This is all one life. There is good and bad, chaos and tranquility, there are moments when nothing is as you’d like it and there are brief moments when everything is perfect. Come to my house on any given day and you will see reality. Unedited.

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12 thoughts on “Come to my house on any given day”

Hehehe, It looks like home! I am forever apologising for the state of my house… Don't get me wrong it's not at health hazard status yet! I saw a cute sign years ago, it said Please excuse the mess, we are busy making memories. I have cosen to live by that!! ;0) #TwinklyTuesday

Love, love, LOVE this post Fi!! Exactly — I couldn't have written it better myself! It's absolute tripe that Instagram is 'real life' — as you say — pan out a little and you'll see a washing basket full of clothes, shoes on the floor, clutter and mess of real life. But who want to see that??!! We all have enough of it in our own homes!! It's lovely to drift off into 'Instagramland' for a while isn't it? Having a little space for loveliness is good — particularly when 'real life' offers everything else — warts and all!

Thanks so much for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday — hope to see you again next week! x

I totally agree! With social media, we can portray what we want. The reality is different – I love that you have been honest about your house…because it's just like mine & everyone else's house! #TwinklyTuesday x

Fionnuala is an Irish mama to her three bilingual boys in Germany. She can usually be found, cuppa in hand, in the kitchen or garden with her children, chickens and dog. Planning new projects, writing, cooking, keeping an eye out for vintage treasures and taking photos for her award-winning blog are among her favourite pastimes. Her official job is project manager.